I would like to be able to swing a 12.25" prop, but with the current gear a 11" prop is risky if the landings are at all hard. I know that there are a few people that have changed out the landing gear for this reason. I know that the mounting plate for the gear will need to be beefed up a little to accomidate the larger gear.

My question is which gear would be the best to put on?

Dubro?
Any other recommendations?

And what size/part # if known?


Thanks,

James

I ran into the same problemas you. My solution was to purchase some 4 star 40 gear and bend the legs to give the plane a bit more height. I did have to drill new mounting holes it the 4 star gear. I gained about 1.5 inches in ground height and the plane looks 10 times better, that semi circle gear just does not look right i.m.o. An added bonus is that the holes for the wheel pants in the stock SE gear are an exact match to the holes in the 4 star gear. My LHS had some 4 star gear in stock, but you could easily order it from sig, price is about 10 bucks. Hope this helps

I'll have to swing by the LHS on the way home and see what they have. If not I'll check into ordering the 4* gear since $10 is normal for landing gear of this size.

I did find this site that has composite gear for the SE, but they want $27. A little much for landing gear.

http://www.tntlandinggear.com/store/...nding_gear.htm

James

I toyed with idea of getting some of those, but $27 is a bit much for LG, thats 1/3 of the cost of the SE kit

Dubro also makes a set of gear that are similar to the stock gear, but I'm not sure how much it will raise the height. Guess I will have to go home first and check the height with the stock gear to see if it is less then 4.5".

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...3&I=LXNM65&P=K

The SE gear is around 3.5

Thanks for the info the the stock height. Looks like that gear would work. I'll still check at my LHS first and see what they have.

Cost is relative. The TNT gear is made from T6 aluminum, and is far stouter than most other offerings. Plus, it probably looks better.

I have a set that is on its second SE. The first lawn-darted when I neglected to hook the wings up. The model was low when the wings departed, and the fuselage did a reasonable imitation of a cruise missile that has arrived at its target. I didn't even have time to chop the throttle. It was big-time ugly.

The TNT gear bent slightly. Of course, the pants were trashed, but the gear itself bent back to shape easily and quickly. I built another one, and haven't touched that gear since.

And I didn't reinforce anything. The TNT gear is a direct replacement, although you have to drill the appropriate holes.

The TNT gear is tough, made to be a direct replacement, and works perfectly. IOW, worth the money it costs.

Too bad you didn't get video of the cruise missle. Were you using the hooks that were supplied with the kit, or did you do a mod and use wing bolts? I used the supplied hooks, which aren't bad, but I use zip ties instead of rubber bands.

I used the landing gear from the MAgic Extra 300L - it's round like the SE's stock but it's very tall and with it I can turn a 14" prop no problem. I will say that it is a little soft and could use a rubberband shock absorber installed between the wheels just for good measure.

I posted the same thing in a dif. forum...
Might be a stupid question, but...
Could you bend the stock gear straight? It would give you more clearance, but would it be strong enough/straight?
again, probably a stupid question

Jomamma-

I wouldn't bend the stock gear. Once you bend it, it will weaken bend twice as easy when you land and eventually break.

I stopped by the LHS and picked up the Carl Goldberg Glass Filled Reinforced gear that are black and came with the wheel axels. I just took off my old gear and used it as a template to drill the mounting holes and put the gear back on. The wheel pants were somewhat of a chore to put back on, but they are on. We'll see how long they stay on once I get it in the air.

Here are some pics of the new gear. It gave me at least 1.5" more clearance to swing that 12.25" prop.

jspencer,

I used the issue hooks, and I too use zip ties instead of rubber bands. I simply neglected to attach the zip tie.

The airplane was talking to me, and I wasn't listening. The aileron trim kept changing as soon as I took off, and by the time I snapped to the fact that something wasn't right and I needed to land and check it out...[&o]

This is where I got my gear from. I dont know if he is still making them but I guess you could ask.
http://www.fiber-lite.com/

I'm always worried I'm going to forget those things...

I have been making custom CF landing gear for over 5 yrs.
With the increase of 4 strokes swinging longer props, many of the stock gear just are not tall enough.
I'd be glad to give you a quote for a gear.
Email me with your size requirements....and the weight of the plane.

Ken McCaughin
[email protected]

I have stock LG on my SSE (kit) with 3” wheels (as per Sig plans), no problem taxiing around on grass with 13x6” MA prop.

What engine are you using with that prop. Im putting a OS 70fs Surpass on mine and I might just buy a bunch of props and try them out.

Saito 82A. Universal engine.